COMPARING THE POLITICAL SYSTEM THROUGH SYSTEMS THEORY All figures are taken from Ken Wedding’s “What You Need To Know”.

What is comparative politics? Why did you chose to take the course?

COMPARATIVE POLITICS A subfield of political science A way to analyze the political world Examination of the similarities and differences of political phenomena or political entities. The reasons for the similarities and differences

MAJOR QUESTIONS CONSIDERED IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS Why are some countries poor and others wealthier? What enables some countries to "make it" in the modern world while others remain locked in poverty? Why are the poorer countries more inclined to be governed autocratically while the richer countries are democratic? What accounts for the regional, cultural, and geographic differences that exist? What are the politics of the transition from underdevelopment to development and what helps stimulate and sustain that process? What are the internal social and political conditions as well as the international situations of these various countries that explain the similarities as well as the differences? What are the patterns that help account for the emergence of democratic as distinct from Marxist-Leninist political systems? These are the kinds of questions that lie at the heart of the field of Comparative Politics.

Systems Theory Systems theory allows us to see how a state’s components interact over time and how nonpolitical and international forces shape what the state can and can’t accomplish. The foundation to answering our fundamental questions

Systems Theory Made up of 5 key concepts: inputs: the ways average citizens and groups engage in political life -interest groups -political parties -individual actions. There are inputs that support and there are inputs that put demands on the state decision-making: controlled by the state, done through the workings of the government. Dependent on state institutions, state values and leader personality outputs: public policy; some regulates the behavior of individuals and organizations feedback: the process through which people find out about public policy and their reactions that may shape the next phase of political life environment: everything outside the political system. Usually divided between domestic and international environments

Political System Model Feedback Domestic Environment Government Outputs/Policies Inputs Feedback International Environment

Political System Model Social, economic, physical conditions Feedback Domestic Environment M e d i a Government Outputs/Policies Inputs Feedback International Environment Culture History Individuals Interest groups Political parties Protests International events Global forces